St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1887-11-27

fEl1 since a ma
dropped in who wanted me to make
him an artificial nose. Ii WASH i'll my
line. however, aS only make legs. arms
and fingers. - | was compelled to de-
cline his request. There are many
curious things about my business. For
instance. if d man only loses his foot he
i compelled 10 wear an entire false leg.
lust a. If he had lost his leg up
above the knee. If he loses his hand he
j. compelled To wear a false arm. be-
cause otherwise it WOuldn' work right
and coUldE be fastened securely. With
a finger. however. it is different, as we
can generally faSten that on so that no
one could tell the difference"
DO YOU make cork legs?" was asked.
The manufacturer laughed heartily as
he replied:
No, do not: and never knew any
one Who did.
THE CORK LEG Is A FABLE.
and | suppose had its origin i'll that
famous song about
Myaheer Won Dam.
The richest merchant il Rotterdam
who kicked a poor relation out of doors
and in doing 50 fractured his leg 50 that
he was compelled to wear one made OF
cork that finally ran away with him.
Anyhow. never saw a cork lee myself.
All artificial legs and arms are made of
light wood. such as willow. baSSwCOd or
something of that sort. The wood Is
covered with raw hide in order to pre-
serve ii. and the top, as you see, IS made
of leather nicely padded where 1t faStenS
Oh the stump of the real leg.
What i the cost Of artificial limbs?
IAN artificial leg usually costs 50.
although we have made them as high as
$50. An arm doesn't cost quite so much,
and fingers are less in proportion.
How long will the limbs laSt?'
I'VE guarantee a leg to last five Years,
although [ have known one to be worn
for fifteen years. If man is careless
and gets his artificial foot wet it will
soon rot. and then he will be compelled
To have a new one fastened TO his leg.
We can put 4 new foot on Just as easily
a. shoemaker puts sole on your
shoe
DO You ever sell ready-made artificial
limbs"
..Oh. no" responded the manufactur-
er. every one has TO be made TO order,
because no two men are exactly alike.
When a man wants a limb we measure
him very carefully for it. as it must be
exactly the same size as his natural
limb, or he would feel awkward. 1t is
made just as near the same shape of his
natural uIlD as DDSSlDie, anu US SOOl
gets accustomed to it,
You mentioned requests that you
sometimes had for odd limbs" sug-
ge>ted the Journal.
Yes replied the manufacturer;
there was the man l mentioned who
wanted the nose. | have
SEEN SEVERAL. ARTIFICIAL NOSES,
but never made any. They are usually
made of wax or plaster of paris, and
are generally fastened to the face by a
pair of Spectacles caught over the ears.
They generally have rather queer ap-
pearance, ami don I look much like the
natural article. They are also very eX-
penSiye, as there is a great deal Of work
on them. especially in the cOlOring. The
object. OF course, is to make them
as much like the natural skin
color as possible. l knew an
old army officer who lost his nose
in the war and had an artificial
one made He was very hard drinke
and lie used to go to the man who made
his nose every six months and have it
colured up little more, to make it look
natural, as he said.
Il also knew j man. continued the
manufacturer. who lost an ear and had
one made of india-rubber. 1t was
beautiful piece OF work. and was very
deiicately tinted the exact color of the
human ear. No one could have told the
difference. and very few people knew
that he wore an artificial ear until one
day he dressed in hurry and put it on
wrong side before. He came down town
with it that WAY. and created a great
sensation before he discovered his mis-
take.
The qUeereSt case | ever heard of. :"
continued the manufacturer, was of
man who lost his lower jaw and had it
replaced by ali artificial one composed
of rubber and wax. By an arrangement
of springs he could use it almost as well
a All ordinary jaw. Then there is the
case of that boy at Bellville, Y. j., who
lost both hands i'll a machine last
spri no. His friends took up a sub
ScriptiOn for him and had two hands
made for him. From the wrist up they
were made Of ash and the hands were
made Of rubber. covered with kid gloves.
l understand that he can use them
nearly As we'll a. natural hands and pick
up pen and write with 1t easily.
Il tell You We can replace almost any
part of a man except his head. and per
hapS III another century they'll be able
to do that"
THEY NI~V-ErT1 SEEN MAN